The Black Sword
by jazz294
Summary: The story of Shou a young boy from the earth bending kingdom, who  longs for adventure and is destained to find it!
1. Dreams and Determination

The black sword

Swords are objects of destruction. Men made them when they could no longer be satisfied with the mere act of hitting, they made them to kill. No sword made form the steal of the earth can be called good. They all thirst for blood.

The town of Shon Yu was situated in the earth kingdom. It was out of the way and the residents thought of the war with the fire benders as a fairy story to frighten the little ones. During the war one or two refugees had come demanding shelter and supplies, but they had left months ago as soon as the war ended. They knew that they were neither liked nor welcomed. They had been tucked away in a small paddock outside town, their only visitors being the locals who brought food and other supplies, and a small boy of about twelve.

This boy had been fascinated, he alone among his village wanted the knowledge of the world. At first he asked about the war, about why they had flown their own villages. Soon that topic was exhausted, they moved on to the other tribes and what they were like. This topic too became common knowledge for the boy. He could remember every single thing that he heard, so having no need to go over anything the conversation got onto bending.

There was one earth bender in the village, an old man called Solon. Another bender also came with the refugees but left before the boy could talk to him, as he received news that his family were alive in Ba Sing Se. Solon was even more withdrawn than the rest of the village, not even the boy could get a word out of him. So the boy relied on the refugees, none of which knew much of bending but he was still fascinated. He disregarded some of the far fetched stories about water benders talking to fish and fire benders wielding lightning. But the rest went into his head and became the fuel to the flames that were starting to catch. He had an idea, a massively wonderful idea, he wanted to be an earth bender.

Once an idea has started it spreads like a virus. The boy begged and hassled the refugees for stories and information on how people become benders. They weren't very helpful they knew the stories of the great deeds, the unforgettable displays of power but none of them could remember exactly how they had gotten to that point. One man insisted that they travelled to the sprit world, which, thought the boy, would have been improbable. Another, who could usually be relied upon said that they were born with it, this, the boy point blank refused to accept, these amazing powers would not be given out at random. The most hopeful idea, for the boy at leased, was that the masters of the power could give people the gift, they could chose who was worthy.

The plan slowly formulated in his mind, he would get the location of a great master form the refugees. He had briefly thought about going to Solon to ask for his powers, but decided against it. Solon was not powerful and the boy felt sure that the larger the power of the master the larger the power of the apprentice. After the final information grab he would leave the village in search of this master. His family would be happy to see him go, they already had two other sons and three daughters, perfectly enough to run the farm. He would be set to go out and have the adventures his heart craved.

Unfortunately his great plans were foiled. The war ended and the refugees left, the only sorrow the boy felt at this was that now he would have to find a great master by himself. His father on the other hand was ecstatic, he could use the refugee paddock and the hills beyond to expand the farm. The space needed a lot of work, so when the boy finally broached the idea of leaving to his parents they refused. The boy was stuck in the small town of Shon Yu, which, at that moment, seemed even more deserted than it had seemed during the war.

Shou Himura, the small boy from Shon Yu was stuck at one of the most boring times he had ever had. His life slow and his ambitions halted, the only adventures he had were in his dreams, even they ended with waking up.

Shou helped his family expand the farm, and slowly but surely the workload lessened. At first with the completion of the tree clearing and then when they finished with the fences. Shou knew that when it was all back to normal he would be allowed to leave. In his off time Shou still was very curious, he gathered knowledge of earth bending whenever he could, whether it was a wondering traveller or snippets of overheard conversations in town by Solon.

It was about three months after the refugees had left town and farm life was settling down again. Shou had decided that instead of asking this time he would just leave. On a farm, though there was a lot of time off, there was always a busy day of two coming up, his parents would always have an excuse not to let him leave.

Since summer was on its way the town were getting ready to have the spring fair. Shou had decided to time his departure to when everyone was occupied and no one would notice a twelve year old boy slipping away.

It took awhile but eventually Shou found everything he needed. He would be wearing a light set of clothes with his best walking boots. As everything was moving around for the fair he found it easy to steal a hunting bow and some snares, he also took his older brother's hunting knife, which he felt guilty about but he couldn't find another one. Shou also packed his water skin that he used when he was working and the flint that he had gotten for his tenth birthday. All this, he packed into a pack with a blanket and hid under the big tree just outside town. Shou had just a few more hours to wait for the spring fair and his freedom.


	2. Finding Min

The night was perfect. Shou couldn't help thinking that the spirits wanted him to go and find a master. His shadow stretched out before him, flickering as the flames of the bonfire danced behind him. This was what he'd been waiting for, he stepped forwards and his shadow lengthened pulling him in the direction he needed to go.

Walking away from his village was nerve racking, the familiar sights were distorted in the dark. He carried on, having walked the path a thousand times he could have walked backwards. Soon he would get past the edge of his world into the world of strange tales that he had longed to see for so long.

He stoped near a small cottage that had belonged to a playmate years ago. The hut was deserted but he knew the significance of it. Another few meters and he would be out of the village. These steps would make his decision final. He lifted his chin and took one step, then another, at a run he made the final leap. He was through, it was happening, his heart leaped at the thought yet he didn't look back, it was to painful, everything he had ever known was gone and he wasn't coming back. He continued on and at the curve of the road he glanced over his shoulder, the last sight he got was a flicker of flame and then nothing, a tree had obstructed his view.

The forest was dark and mysterious, the leaves seemed to reach out to brush Shou as he walked. He could hear the high pitched call of wolf bats as they flew over head and wished he had more than a hunting knife to defend himself. Pulling his pack further onto his shoulders he trudged on.

Shou walked all night, he needed to put as much space between him and Shon Yu as he could before morning. It wasn't unusual for children to no come back until the morning of the spring fair, but when he was still missing at noon people would start to worry.

Finally in the soft morning light Shou came upon another village. The swinging sign told him that it was called Min Mura. Shou lifted his head and tried his best to look confident as he walked in. He nodded at a few people that showed him interest and made his way to the stable.

"Hello," he said, slightly startled at how small his voice sounded, "I would like to buy an Ostrich Horse."

The man stared at him hard, obviously trying to decide if the small boy in front of him was worth his time.

"How much you got?" he said shortly, "You need five silver pieces for my fully grown animals."

Shou looked doubtfully into his purse, he had thought that they would be a bit cheaper.

"I have two silver and 7 copper pieces, what can I get for that?" he said. Wincing as the vendor laughed.

"You know what kid, I like you, I can give you and old fire nation Dragon Moose for the tow silver and that nice looking bow you've got there," He said with a smile.

Shou thought about it for a second, transportation was definitely more important than a bow, and he still had the snares.

"Make that one silver and 5 coppers and you've got a deal."

The vendor laughed again and handed over the Dragon Moose.

Back on the road Shou thought about his first day away from home. He had lost a bow and most of his money but bows could be easily made and there was nothing he could do about the money. He had gained a mount, which would be useful and make everything faster. He decided to name the Dragon Moose, Min after the town he had bought it in. Min was a light brown colour with a dark mane, he had small spikes running down the length of his spine and large ears. Shou decided that though Min was going to be a good companion, he was disappointed, the Dragon Moose that he had heard of had glorious antlers that they displayed proudly. The only antlers that Min had were furry little stubs protruding about ten centimetres from either side of his head.

As dusk approached Shou settled down to sleep. He had ridden through more small villages like Min Mura and had tried the inn at each but all were too expensive. Finally he had chose to camp, he settled on a place away from the villages in a small clearing. He couldn't be seen from the road but he could hear when other travellers came past. The caution he was undertaking surprised him but he assumed that it was safer not to be reckless, especially still so close to home. Sleep overcame him quickly, and he slept soundly.

Shou woke with a jolt and looked around, birds were chattering in the trees and Min was grazing on the grass. It was real, everything had actually happened. Shou didn't know how to feel, happy that he was finally perusing his dream of becoming an earth bender, or devastated that he had abandoned he family.

Instead of thinking he called Min and set of on the road again. He knew that no matter how long it took he would find a master and, in time become a master. So pointing towards Ba Sing Se, he felt that he had started his journey and there was no going back.


End file.
